News You Can Eat

New brunch in downtown Dallas tops this serving of restaurant news

New brunch now being served in downtown Dallas.

Photo by SFE

Winter weather is the biggest story in mid-February 2021, but there are still Dallas restaurant tidbits to digest for our twice-a-month Restaurant News Roundup.

Here's the latest Dallas dining dish:

Eater Dallas has a list of restaurants that are open and closed during the weather event. There's a surprising number of restaurants open, including a number of coffee places.

Revolver Taco is opening a location in Fort Worth, in the former Taco Diner space at at 156 W. 4th St. It represents a Fort Worth return for the restaurant, which started on West 7th Street in Fort Worth, prior to opening a location in Deep Ellum. Like the Deep Ellum location, the new Fort Worth location will also contain a chef-driven restaurant-within-a restaurant.

BoomerJack's Grill & Bar, the DFW sports bar chain, has opened a location in Plano at 5430 SH 121, with the usual collection of TVs and an expansive patio, where dogs will be allowed. The chain has 14 locations, plus siblings Sidecar Social, a lounge, and Bedford Ice House, a live-music venue.

Meccha Matcha, the matcha-themed dessert shop, has closed its location in Plano. The shop announced its February 14 closure in a Facebook post on February 1, stating that "Due to the impact of COVID-19 on our business and for many other reasons, we have decided not to renew our lease for the upcoming years." They location in Grand Prairie's Asia Times Square and may open other locations after COVID-19 goes away.

The Second Floor at The Exchange, the newly-opened restaurant in the AT&T Discovery District is now serving brunch every Sunday from 11 am-4 pm. This is the restaurant featuring two concepts: Ichi Ni San by Chef Peja Krstic and Ounce by Chef Brian Zenner. Guests can select from both the Ichi Ni San menu featuring Japanese-inspired brunch items and the Ounce menu featuring European and Mediterranean inspired brunch dishes. A robust beverage program will be available including an at-the-table mimosa bar and hand-crafted cocktails.

Menu items from Ichi Ni San include the Milk Bun & Chicken Karaage– soft pillowy milk buns filled with tender fried chicken, kewpie mayo, Tonkotsu sauce and sunamono; Japanese Breakfast Plate – steamed rice, salmon or tuna, tsukemono, tamago, miso soup, soba seaweed salad, steamed vegetables; Japanese Pancakes– fluffy soufflé pancakes drizzled with maple-umeboshi syrup, ginger-citrus whipped cream and season fruit; and Okonomiyaki – Osaka style pancake with cabbage, potato, squash, green onions and pork belly topped with kewpie mayo, Tonkotsu sauce and katsuobushi.

Menu items from Ounce include the Bananas Foster & Nutella Crepes – rum, hazelnut, whipped cream; Prawns & Grits – New Caledonia Cristal Blue head-on prawns, poached egg, kale, tomato, garlic, chilies, lemon, fines herbes; Spanish Octopus & Baked Egg – gigante beans, kale, giardineiera, chilies, salsa verde; Croissant, Brie & Jam – La Casita Bakery croissant, warmed triple cream brie, lingonberry jam.

Manhattan Project Brewing Co. has created a new beer with romantic potential: Love Is Rasberry Fission, aged in chardonnay barrels. It's available at the taproom only.

Lakewood Brewing is making its extremely popular seasonal Muy Importante – Margarita Mexican Lager into a year-round offering. Muy Importante started as Lakewood's Small Batch Can Series, and was then released as a seasonal in 2020. The beer has an 4.7% ABV, which is low for Lakewood, and is about half the calories of a frozen margarita. It is brewed with agave, orange peel, lime juice and a hint of sea salt.

Uchiba has partnered with Franklin BBQ of Austin for its latest ramen collaboration. It features a pho-style broth, smoked beef, mushrooms, egg noodles, soy-marinated egg, and pickled red onion, for $16, available on February 21 and February 28.

McDonald's has brought back the Shamrock Shake and Oreo Shamrock McFlurry for a limited time. The Shamrock Shake consists of vanilla soft serve blended with their Shamrock Shake flavor which one presumes consists of mint. The Shamrock Shake was created in 1967 by Hal Rosen, a Connecticut McDonald’s Owner-Operator who invented the shake in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. It later debuted in select locations across the U.S. in 1970. McDonald's says it's the most anticipated dessert to reappear on their menu each year. The OREO Shamrock McFlurry debuted in 2020 and features vanilla soft serve, Shamrock Shake flavor, and OREO cookie pieces.

Dickey's Barbecue Pit will start selling its Sweet and Spicy Barbecue Sauce by the bottle in Walmart stores across the U.S. Walmart already sells Dickey's barbecue beans, sauce, and sausages in-stores and online.

openings

Opening News

New restaurant The Gibson fills needs of its North Dallas neighborhood

The Gibson

A swanky new restaurant has debuted in North Dallas after overcoming some major obstacles: Called The Gibson, it opened in November at 17552 North Dallas Pkwy., in the space previously occupied by Maguire's Bistro & Bar, after three years in the making.

Husband-and-wife Carl and Carrie Britton first purchased the building in 2022, intending to open a spinoff of The Funky Door, their fine-dining restaurant in Lubbock.

Carrie is a big wine buff who's certified by the Court of Master Sommeliers and is also a French Wine Scholar. She opened The Funky Door in 2010 — a rare fine-dining haven in Lubbock at the time. More recently, she's turned her attention to the Dallas area, opening a French restaurant called Vieux Carre in Flower Mound in 2023 (which is currently closed temporarily).

The Gibson was slated to open sooner, but in mid-construction, they were dealt a serious blow.

"In 2023, The Gibson was devastated by thieves," Carrie says. "They destroyed the building, doubling the remodeling budget in damage by stripping copper from the walls, stealing all the electrical wiring and components, stealing equipment, and destroying everything from the AC to the floors."

To make it worse, insurance wouldn’t cover the loss because it was theft.

"It was a blow that left me truly shaken, and for a long time I couldn’t even look at the pictures of the damage," she says. "Emotionally and financially, I had to really pray about whether I was going to get this done or not. But I really felt like it was something that I needed to do. I want to be victorious. I'm not going to be a victim."

She regained her passion, returning to the vision she had for the space.

“The building had its own personality — I felt like a kind of Hollywood glamor with a new Dallas edge would be perfect," she says.

The GibsonThe Gibson

The facade and decor have an Art Deco flavor with chandeliers, a color scheme with polished black surfaces and bronze accents, and a swooping bar in the center. They've added a patio, helping to make the space right off the Tollway feel more friendly and approachable.

The menu is American with steakhouse touches. There's a tomahawk for two, ribeye, filet, and NY Strip. Plus short ribs, salmon, a burger, vegetarian risotto, and sea bass with an unexpected white chocolate strawberry buerre blanc.

There are deviled eggs, crab cakes, shrimp cocktail, and fried pickles. Entree prices start at $20 and top out at $59 for the sea bass.

Cocktails include a pear martini and a Gibson with gin and dry vermouth, garnished with an onion. A large wine list includes what Carrie describes as “unicorns” — bottles that are hard to find, including a 1982 Lafitte.

"There are very rare wines, but we also have everything, starting from $40 a bottle," she says.

They're currently open for dinner with plans to add lunch, and there's definitely an audience. Maguire's had a big following and when The Gibson got vandalized, the neighbors came out in support.

"The neighborhood has been really awesome," Carrie says. "They would alert me when things were going on, and they were really great to help watch over it. That was a big motivation."

openings